A new post from Brian Ritchie recalls Nirvana supporting Violent Femmes at Festival Hall in Brisbane and Fisherman’s Wharf on the Gold Coast in 1992.
The post includes a photo outside Festival Hall in Brisbane, where the marquee reads “Violent Femmes Plus Nirvana”, along with reflections from Brian Ritchie on meeting Kurt Cobain during the run of shows.
The Femmes bassist also recalls another Queensland stop at Fisherman’s Wharf on the Gold Coast, where Nirvana was still billed as support even as Nevermind was taking off around the world.
According to Ritchie, the shows captured a crossover moment: Nirvana was suddenly becoming one of the biggest bands on earth, but was still opening for Violent Femmes in Australia. He writes that the band even suggested switching the bill, but Nirvana declined.
Queensland venues caught a strange crossover moment
For Queensland music heads, it is a reminder that some of the biggest names in music history once passed through local venues before those shows took on a life of their own.
It also speaks to the kind of live music history that still sticks around here: old bills, lost venues, strange pairings, and the gigs people still bring up decades later.
That is part of what gives the story its pull now. It is not just about Nirvana and Violent Femmes. It is about the way Queensland venues once caught moments that only later became legend.
The legends live on through Local Lore
Local Lore is YELO’s space for the stories that still get passed around after the show.
It is about old posters, strange bills, half-forgotten venues, and local music moments people still bring up years later.
Got one of your own? YELO wants to hear it.
If there is a gig story, photo, flyer or memory that still sticks with you, send it through and help build the archive.
Submit your Local Lore story here.
Images via Facebook.
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